In the case of Kadrmas et al. v. Dickinson Public Schools et al., 1987, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of a North Dakota law that allowed school districts to charge for busing students who lived within its boundaries but attended schools outside them. The plaintiffs were parents whose children had been charged for bus transportation to attend a school outside their home district due to overcrowding at their local school. They argued that this violated equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment as it discriminated against poorer families who could not afford these fees and thus denied their children access to public education. The court held by a 5-4 majority that there was no violation of equal protection since all families residing within the district, regardless of income level or chosen school, were subject to the same fee structure; moreover, they found no fundamental right being infringed upon because free public education is not guaranteed by constitutionally protected rights.

The dissenting opinion in the Kadarmas v. Dickinson Public Schools case argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings on equal protection claims. The justices contended that by upholding a North Dakota law which allowed school districts to charge for bus transportation, the court effectively sanctioned wealth-based discrimination against students from low-income families who could not afford these fees. They believed this violated principles of equal educational opportunity and access, as it created an undue burden on poorer students and their families. Furthermore, they criticized the majority's application of rational basis review instead of strict scrutiny in assessing whether there was a compelling state interest justifying such discrimination – arguing that education is a fundamental right deserving higher legal protections.